Chase's Dragon
by AirJordan8
Summary: Inspired by a Hugh Laurie quote. Chase finds his Vicodin-and his Wilson. Post-Everybody Dies fic. Chase-centric with House/Wilson friendship overtones. Rated for language.


I just can't accept that Chase would seamlessly and effortlessly slide into House's position. I mean, can you imagine the pressure? So I wrote this. Please don't sue me; I don't own House MD or any character that you recognize.

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_"All heroic deeds require a cost, o__therwise they're not really heroic. __There has to be a dragon. __There has to be a risk. __There has to be pain. __And he endures that pain a__nd fights that dragon__.**"**__―Hugh Laurie about House_

Chase was so sure that he could do House's job. His first case as Head of Diagnostics, he realized that the patient had lymphoma while bouncing a ball against his new office wall. He came to the conclusion that their second patient had been poisoned by her mother by the strange color of the mom's purse. But now he's got his third case and he's stuck. Everyone thinks he's House and they're all expecting him to have an epiphany that he's not getting. Two days pass and the 9 year old girl isn't getting any better-she's dying because deep down, Chase knows he can't be House forever.

He's sitting in his office with the first twinges of a headache curling at his temples. The ball isn't working, the whiteboard isn't working, and the treatment isn't working either. Nothing's working.

A sound outside his office distracts him; it's coming from the balcony. He remembers Foreman informing them that the new Head of Oncology would be starting this week. Instead of choosing from the people who already work here, it was decided that they all needed a clean slate. No more House, no more Wilson, no more chickens running around the hospital or porno posters hanging in the lobby. So the new Head is a newbie; two years younger than Chase. Chase doesn't know more than that except that he graduated high school at age 16. Honestly, he misses Wilson more than he thought he would. Wilson was always strictly House's best friend and off limits to anyone, especially House's team, so he was never allowed to get very close. Now he sees Wilson as what could have been his last link to House.

But he knows that's incredibly selfish and House-like so he pushes that thought far away and looks out the glass door leading to the balcony. The guy in Wilson's old office is trying to move a couch so that it's against the wall but he's not getting very far. Chase could use a break from this headache-inducing thought process, so he gets up and heads outside. He hops over the separating wall and lightly raps his knuckles against the glass door.

The guy's head snaps up and Chase takes that as an excuse to enter the office. He feels really weird, standing in the place where House and Wilson used to spend so much time. He hasn't been in here for quite a while but he remembers the first time he entered this room, feeling awkward and not understanding why the nurses pointed him here when he asked where House was. House has seemed annoyed-probably checking his place off the list of spots that he could hide from Chase and another fellow that worked for him at the time. He'd waved his hand in Wilson's general direction and grumbled, "Jimmy Wilson, Boy Wonder Oncologist" but didn't introduce Chase, either because Wilson already knew his name or because House didn't. Now the walls are bare and the only thing in the room besides the couch is a desk pushed halfheartedly to the side.

Chase realizes he's been staring at nothing for a while and snaps himself out of it. "Need some help with that?" He asks, gesturing towards the couch.

The man accepts and they maneuver the couch until it's just right. "Thanks, man," he tells Chase.

Chase nods and then remembers that he doesn't even know the guy's name. He sticks his hand out, "Robert Chase. My office is just on the other side of the balcony."

The man gives Chase a tiny smile and shakes his hand. He's got hair so dark it's almost black but his eyes are more of a golden brown. The way the corner of his mouth quirks up makes Chase feel innately comfortable; he's not gay, but he's never had such an instant connection with anyone. He finds himself vaguely wondering if this is how House felt when he met Wilson, a story that they had gotten countless versions of and never quite determined which was the real one.

"Jacob Austen," he says. There's a brief pause and then he continues. "I've been working for a while. You wanna go show me around the cafeteria?"

Chase accepts, partly because he could use a break from stressing about this patient and partly because he could use a friend. They go downstairs and Chase steers Austen away from the mashed potatoes that once made Cameron sick. Austen, it turns out, moved here from Chicago two days ago and doesn't know anyone except Foreman and a neighbor that he struck up a conversation with. Chase makes it his unspoken goal to show him around, and starts by letting him know that the cute nurse he described tested positive for herpes a few months ago. They're almost done with their meal when Austen starts talking about a camping trip he took and Chase realizes that, even though there's no target shaped rash, Lyme disease would explain all her symptoms. He mumbles an excuse and darts out of the cafeteria.

He solves the case, and another, and another. Months pass, and then it's been a year since House died and Diagnostics is still up and running. Three days before the two year anniversary, Foreman calls Chase into his office and shows him an unmarked envelope that he found in his mailbox. Chase is sworn to secrecy before Foreman passes him the letter.

_Dear Dr. Eric Foreman,_

_Our online security team has detected irregular activity on your Chase banking account. To Help us prevent crime, we need to verIfy your account details registered with us to be sure that your account has not been breached. Please calL the number below to sort out this minor isSue with your account._

_(307) 110-1412_

_For your protection, transactions may be limited until you are able to cOnfirm your identity. We realize that this precaution may cause you some inconvenience; however, keeping your account safe is oNe of our top priorities._

_Thank you for being our customer._

_Sincerely,_

_Todd Maclin_

_CEO of Commercial, Personal and Business Banking_

Foreman sits quietly and lets him read it. When he's finished, the Dean of Medicine speaks up like he's figured out how Stonehenge was built. "I use Wells Fargo, not Chase," he reveals. Then he picks the letter out of Chase's hand and starts pointing things out. "And look at these capitalized letters. Here and here."

Chase gets the point and puts the clues together, feeling a little bit like Sherlock Holmes. "Hilson?"

Foreman grins. And Chase grins back because he remembers when it was just them and Cameron and they had all these little inside jokes; one of their favorites being that they would refer to House and Wilson as "Hilson" when their boss and his best friend weren't around. It isn't even that funny now. But when Chase had accidently called Wilson "Hilson" because the three of them had stayed up all night and it was 6 in the morning, it was hilarious. They'd always thought it was just between them but, not for the first time, House knew something they didn't.

They dial the phone number, but the line has been disconnected. Really, Chase didn't expect anything different. Foreman pretends to shrug it off but Chase knows that he's interested. He's interested too. It's one last puzzle; one last mystery that they're supposed to solve.

He goes back to his office and doesn't go to Austen's office at lunchtime like he usually does. He gets onto Google and discovers that 307 is the only area code that is used for Wyoming. Chase bites back a Brokeback Mountain joke and looks at the rest of the number. He goes into the conference room, shuts the blinds, and writes down the numbers.

He flips the whiteboard around when his team comes in, does a quick differential, and sends them away to do more tests. The minute they're gone, he goes back to his numbers and keeps trying to separate them.

Austen comes in with his lunch and sits down at the table. When Chase doesn't acknowledge him instantly, he speaks up. "What's with the numbers?"

"Just something I'm trying to figure out," Chase replies cryptically. By now, Austen is used to Chase making responses that don't make sense and dropping off in the middle of sentences and running out of the room. So this is nothing.

They sit in silence for a minute or two, Austen chewing on his food and Chase making his fingers black because he's using his finger instead of the eraser. "Why not cross off one of them?" Austen suggests. "It could be a date."

Chase swipes the last 2 with his finger but he knows as soon as he does it that it makes no sense. Austen puts his food down and approaches the whiteboard, taking the marker from Chase. He rewrites the 2 and scrubs away the first 1. "October 14th, 2012; does that mean anything?"

Chase studies the offending numbers, thinking hard. Does it mean anything to him? "I don't know," he replies honestly. He runs through important dates in his head. He goes through birthdays, anniversaries, and then he comes to death dates. House "died" on May 21st, but what about Wilson? Racking his brain, he tries to recall information that he thought had dissipated from his mind. He remembers finding it strange that House died exactly a week after Wilson's fatal scan. That makes May 14th the day that Wilson decided to stop chemo and was given 5 months to live. Now he's staring into space, unaware of the fingers Austen is snapping in his face, and reciting the months in his head like a child. June, July, August, September, October. Five months to the day.

Austen isn't really surprised when Chase turns around and dashes out of the conference room. He runs to Foreman and tells him everything. The two spend weeks poring over the way the message was worded and the way it was formatted and they investigate everything-Wyoming, Todd Maclin , Chase Bank-_everything_. But they turn up nothing. It's just a state with only one area code, a wealthy man with a padded office in New York, and a well-known bank.

Chase can't give this up. It means something, he _knows_ this means something. House is alive and wants to be found. Wilson probably is too. Maybe he went and got treatment, maybe he went into spontaneous remission, maybe House found the God damn cure to cancer. Chase knows it must be _something_. The more he studies the single page, he more he becomes convinced of its' importance. He's slowly but surely being sucked into an abyss of phone numbers and capitalized letters and endless mysteries that will never be solved. He's drowning in the world that House and Wilson left behind. Foreman tells him to let it go, that even if some incredible miracle happened and they're both still alive-they're doing what House and Wilson do best: screwing with people.

Three weeks after Foreman told him about the letter, Chase gets into an argument with Austen. He's been spending his lunch hour endlessly searching for clues and trying desperately to figure out House and Wilson's hidden message. He's not sleeping well, he eats in front of his computer, and Foreman has to persuade him to take cases that he half-heartedly solves after his team does all the digging. Chase knows he's obsessing but he just can't stop; it's his Vicodin. Somewhere inside, he doesn't feel like the Head of Diagnostics. He never has. He needs House. He's spent his whole life searching for a role model that he's never really gotten and he needs guidance.

After a patient dies because they diagnosed him too late, Austen, Park, Adams and his other fellow, Ludwin, go to Foreman. Chase arrives baggy eyed and with the worn letter folded up in his palm because he can't let it out of his sight for even a second anymore. Foreman threatens to fire him, but Chase has known him way too long to believe he would do that.

"I quit," he says, maybe to catch Foreman in a lie but maybe because he's serious. Even he can't tell the difference anymore. He gets up and starts for the door, waiting for Foreman to stop him.

Foreman stands up and looks at him incredulously. "You _quit_? Over a stupid letter? Don't be a moron, Chase. What would House-"

"I don't know what _House_ would do," Chase screams, whipping around and stepping closer to Foreman. "I don't know what the hell House would do and you know why? Because I'm not Gregory fucking House!"

They stare at each other, having a silent standoff. Chase is distracted, glaring at Foreman and thinking about how badly he needs another cup of coffee and another glass of bourbon. Foreman takes advantage of his lack of attention and sleep and reaches out and swipes the letter that Chase is holding in his hand. Before Chase can do anything stupid like punch him, he tears it in half and in half again and then he walks over to the paper shredder in the corner of his office and drops it in even though Chase is leaving him with scratches.

"You're done with this, Chase. Go home."

Chase fights and swears and shouts at Foreman-he might have even broken the vase on Foreman's table-but he wakes up the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed. He gets up and showers and when he walks into the kitchen, Austen is sitting there with an Egg McMuffin for him-Chase's favorite guilty pleasure. Chase apologizes to him and spills his guts as much as he ever would with another guy.

"Why don't you just fire them?" Austen asks.

"Fire who? My team?" Chase doesn't get it.

"Yeah. Fire anybody who worked with you and House and start fresh," he explains and that actually makes sense. Chase nods and takes another bite. "I could help you do the interviews?" He offers.

Chase accepts, because he could use a friend.

The two of them take a day off and then they go back to Princeton Plainsboro and Chase apologizes to Foreman. Park and Adams understand when Chase tells him, and then he and Austen get started looking for two new fellows. It takes a while because Chase is picky, but they do find two smart, young doctors who don't have the shadow of House hanging over them. Chase goes back to writing on his whiteboard and bouncing his ball and he finally copes-really copes-with the fact that House is not coming back. Eventually, he even accepts that House is out there somewhere without feeling like he needs him to come back and help him.

One day in early fall of 2017, Chase is on Austen's side of the balcony leaning against the dividing wall. He's interrogating Austen about the night he spent with that new nurse from Peds while scratching his stubbed jaw and munching on the other half of Austen's sandwich, and he's not even distressed-he's actually a little thrilled-when he realizes just what they have become.

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_Yes, October 14th really is Wilson's supposed death date. No, that was not my phone number. I made it up. But I'm sure if it is someone's, they do not want to be called. :)_


End file.
